If you'd like to skip the introduction, you can skip ahead to core cards, the current planar module, or the design process. If you're joining us after Planar Cube has planeswalked, you can also skip ahead to the revealed planar modules.

Chaos Warp | Art by: Xavier Ribeiro

Table of Contents

What Is Planar Cube?

Cube is like Booster Draft but pulls cards from across Magic's history. There are all sorts of permutations of cubes, from high-powered to rarity-restricted, special rules to color-restricted, and many, many more flavors.

Planar Cube is novel in that it planeswalks every week. Each Tuesday, we'll visit a new plane, and the majority of the cube will rotate, pulling cards in from across all of Magic to celebrate the themes, mechanics, and aesthetics of the host plane.

Planar Cube has two components

  • The 200-card planar core: This doesn't change from week to week. Expect lands, removal, staple effects, and cards which will play well and differently on different planes.
  • A 360-card planar module that rotates: This contains many of the most impactful cards, both from a power-level and thematic perspective. Many of the cards will be from the host plane, but many more will be from other parts of Magic—from Magic Multiverse sets to Universes Beyond sets. But all of them will support the host plane's mechanics and themes. For our inaugural Planar Cube, we're testing a rule: if a card appears in one planar module, it does not appear in any of the others—it's only around for one week. You can expect the cube to feel very different each week.

Planar Cube is …

  1. Fluctuating: Because Planar Cube changes so drastically, you should expect a different experience each week. The cards are strong, but which cards you'll use and how you'll use them will change.
  2. Strong: Planar Cube uses many of the most powerful and iconic cards from across MTG Arena, so expect something higher octane than normal drafts. It's strong, but it's not power-full like Arena Powered Cube, so expect a different texture to the experience.
  3. Mostly Singleton: Each iteration of Planar Cube contains 560 cards with a handful of duplicates.
  4. Phantom: In tabletop, a cube is lent out to players who return the cards at the end of the draft, and the same is true here. Cards drafted are not added to a player's collection.

How to Draft Planar Cube

While some people have been playing Cube for decades, Planar Cube will be an introduction to the format for others. And there haven't been any cubes on MTG Arena like Planar Cube. So, we want to give you a brief guide before you jump into the deep end.

Cube exists somewhere between Booster Draft and Constructed. Like in a normal draft, you want to draft intrinsically powerful cards that demand an answer from your opponent and cards that will answer your opponents' cards. As in Constructed, everyone has access to plenty of strong cards, so you need to find ways to make your deck outperform theirs—such as utilizing synergies to make your cards more than the sum of their parts or drafting a strong mana base to keep you from stumbling.

The 200-card core of Planar Cube contains plenty of great ways to maximize your mana and answer your opponents' threats but few ways to win the game. You'll rely on the cards connected to the home plane for power and synergy, and each plane works differently.

In general, you can expect to see certain staple archetypes:

  1. Aggro: Pick a base color—often but not always red or white—and draft a lot of cheap creatures and removal.
  2. Midrange: Draft a mixture of cheap disruption and threats in the two- to four-mana range so you can stymie aggro decks and pressure slower decks.
  3. Control: This is often centered in blue or black. Remove all your opponents' threats and win the long game with one big finisher or by drawing more cards than your opponent.
  4. Ramp: This is primary in green. Generate extra mana in the early turns and play bigger spells faster than your opponents can.
  5. Multicolor good stuff: Prioritize mana fixing early, play three or more colors, and wield every effect and archetype in the cube … if your mana can handle it.

These are the broadest archetypes. Each plane offers its own texture of gameplay, such as how the Zendikar version of the cube includes three copies of Misty Rainforest to make cards like Hydroponics Architect, Tireless Tracker, Treasure Cruise, and Mystic Sanctuary even stronger.

Planar Core Cards

Swords to Plowshares (STA) Hydroponics Architect (Y25-EOE) Dark Confidant (J25) Abrade (SOA) Emeritus of Abundance (SOS) Arid Mesa (SPG)

The core of Planar Cube contains 200 cards that remain the same as the cube planeswalks and rotates. It has powerful cards—especially for mana fixing and removal—but fewer cards that will win the game outright. Many of its cards are selected because they play well and differently on different planes, but you'll have to figure out those synergies on your own.

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Select a symbol to see contents of the planar core.

Planar Module Contents

Each week, Planar Cube will rotate and planeswalk to a new plane in the Magic Multiverse. The planar core stays the same, but the 360-card planar module will change. You can see the contents of the revealed planar modules and discussion of their identities below!

Week One: Zendikar
(July 21–27)

Polluted Delta (KTK) Bloodstained Mire (KTK) Windswept Heath Arid Mesa (SPG) Misty Rainforest (SPG) Skyclave Apparition (ZNR) Brainstorm (STA) Bloodghast (ZEN) Impetuous Lootmonger (Y24-OTJ) Scythecat Cub (J25) Thought-Knot Seer (OGW) Risen Reef (ECC)

Welcome to Zendikar, a world of adventure, landfall, and most importantly, fetch lands. While Zendikar is the host plane, there are three copies of each fetch land and an abundance of mana fixing. Build an ambitious mana base, fill the stack with landfall triggers, and have access to some of the strongest low-cost, assertive cards from across the Multiverse. If you enjoyed the last few versions of Arena Cube, you'll enjoy your stay on Zendikar. During your stay, you might also see some additional copies of Thought-Knot Seer and Risen Reef, but that's probably nothing … right?

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Select a symbol to see contents of the Zendikar planar module.